A New Function for Improving Data Management
Database archiving is becoming an important new topic for data managers. The need for this function has surfaced at most IT organizations, and the problems it addresses are only getting bigger and bigger. These problems include challenges with data retention requirements, application renovations and e-discovery. Most IT data managers recognize the problems but many do not associate database archiving as a solution. This will change as the technology matures and spreads.
Database Archiving is the practice of removing selective business that are not expected to be referenced again records from operational databases and storing them in a separate archive data store where they can be retrieved if needed.
In essence, it partitions the application database into the operational database (current business records that are still of value to the business) and the archive data store (inactive business records that need to be retained but that have no expectation of being used again for business purposes).
You don't archive databases; you archive business records from databases. Database archiving is an electronic-form of records retention.
For example, a banking application has an operational database containing data for transactions (such as deposits and withdrawals). As data for a single transaction ages, it reaches a point where all intended or expected business uses of the information have been accomplished. The business record includes all data relative to the transaction, including reference information pointed to from the transaction. For example, customer name and address may be copied from the customer master record in order to complete the business record that is moved to the archive.
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Source: Information Management
By: Jack Olson
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1 comments:
A great article describing the benefits of database archiving generally, but it does focus on the “lift and shift” part of the archiving process without giving much thought to the best place to store and manage the archived data. The default position has been to put the archived data into another “historical” database or use various flavours of XML. The first scenario does nothing to address the cost or complexity of managing database data, while the second raises a host of issues around data security, integrity and accessibility. And this might explain why database archiving has been a slow burner. The usual suspects talk-up the application performance and manageability benefits of archiving, where the ROI is notoriously difficult to measure and quantify, while ignoring the significant storage and operational savings associated with using the right archive store. The penny dropped for Applimation (now Informatica) earlier this year when they partnered with Clearpace and embedded their archive store technology http://tinyurl.com/l7flgz. The cloud could also play an interesting role in archiving generally, as it would seem to have the perfect attributes for preserving ‘non-operational’ data cost-effectively while maintain on demand access. (Btw, full disclosure on my part, I work for Clearpace and their sister cloud archive service RainStor)
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